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Prawns in cumin sauce

Apicius 1.29 · 4th century AD

Latin

XXVIIII. CYMINATVM IN OSTREA ET CONCILIA: piper ligusticum petrosillenum mentam siccam folium malabatrum cuminum plusculum mel acetum et liquamen.
aliter: piper ligusticum petrosilenum mentam siccam cuminum plusculum mel acetum liquamen.

English

29. Cumin sauce for oysters and shellfish: pepper, lovage, parsley, dried mint, tejpat, a good deal of cumin, honey, vinegar, and fish sauce.
Another: pepper, lovage, parsley, dried mint, a good deal of cumin, honey, vinegar, and fish sauce.

This sauce must have been popular, because it is repeated in Apicius twice more, at recipe 9.1.3 and 9.7. In each, a variant without tejpat follows.

Ingredients

  • 450 g uncooked prawns, peeled and deveined
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp lovage
  • A small handful parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 Tb honey
  • 1 Tb fish sauce
  • 1 Tb vinegar
  • 1 tejpat leaf (optional)

Method

  1. Boil the prawns to cook them
  2. While the prawns are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a small pan, crushing the tejpat leaf if using. Bring to a gentle simmer then take off the heat and remove the tejpat leaf.
  3. Once the prawns are cooked, drain them, pour over the sauce, and serve.